Napolitano: Another 9/11 coming?

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 with a speech Friday in New York vowing to keep up the fight against terrorists and to “to enlist the nation in its own collective security.”

“We can’t guarantee there won’t be another successful terrorist attack,” Napolitano will tell first responders and emergency workers. “The threats we face are evolving, and enemies like Al Qaeda and its affiliates are determined. … Today, on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history, I can pledge to you this: We will do everything in our power to prevent attacks and to prepare ourselves.”

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Here are excerpts from Napolitano’s prepared remarks:

“Over the past year and a half, I have made one of my very top priorities for DHS to get information, to get tools and to get resources out of Washington, D.C., and into the hands of the men and women serving on the front lines. That includes you — the first responders — but it also includes citizens, community groups and our partners in the private sector. This may not generate big headlines. But this hometown-centric approach has a big impact on our ability to be effective and — more important — to support you in the field.

“The old view that ‘if we fight the terrorists abroad, we won't have to fight them here’ is just that — the old view. It is abundantly clear that we have to fight them abroad, we have to fight them at home. We have to fight them, period.

“As I’ve said before, we can’t guarantee there won’t be another successful terrorist attack. The threats we face are evolving, and enemies like Al Qaeda and its affiliates are determined. We can’t seal our country under a glass dome. But if that attack comes, our enemies will still not have succeeded, because our nation is too strong, and too resilient, to ever cower before a small group of violent extremists. We have always rebounded from hardships and challenges — and come together as a people to overcome disasters, attacks and war. And we will do so again.

“Today, on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history, I can pledge to you this: We will do everything in our power to prevent attacks and to prepare ourselves. At DHS, a fundamental part of that obligation is to get information, tools and resources into the hands of people who can use them to help all of us be more secure. To field that bigger team … to enlist individuals, local communities, businesses, law enforcement and first responders in a network of shared responsibility … to enlist the nation in its own collective security.”